Willie Frazier, ex-Oilers TE, dies at 71

Willie Frazier, who spent three stints with the Oilers over a 10-year career in the AFL and NFL and was one of the 4,000-plus plaintiffs in the concussions-related lawsuit against the NFL that was settled for $765 million last week, died Thursday at a Houston hospital, according to family members.

Frazier, who also played tight end for the Chargers and Chiefs between 1964 and 1972 and in 1975, was 71.

His daughter, Tami Frazier, said her father suffered paralysis and was confined to a wheelchair for several years after suffering from back problems following his playing career. He also suffered from dementia in the final years of his life, she said.

Despite his assorted ailments, including Parkinson’s-like symptoms, that family members associated with his playing career, he remained a fan of the game, Tami Frazier said.

“He would watch football games, and I never could understand why. I could never watch them,” she said. “But he wasn’t the type to lament about things. He was tough and a fighter. He was in and out of hospitals, and the things he went through would have taken me out.”

Born in Eldorado, Ark., Frazier played at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and joined the AFL Oilers in 1964. He also played for the Chargers from 1966 through 1970, split the 1971 season between the Chiefs and Oilers and played for Kansas City in 1972 before a final season with Houston in 1975.

He played in 121 games with 209 catches for 3,088 yards, scoring 38 touchdowns, and was selected for the AFL All-Star Game in 1965, 1967 and 1969, winning all-AFL honors with the Oilers in 1965.

After football, family members said Frazier worked as a football coach and police officer for the Houston Independent School District. He also worked with the Professional United Leadership League, a program for disadvantaged youths started in the 1970s by former Oilers Ernie Ladd and John White, and whose volunteer workers included George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States.

Tami Frazier said her father’s health had deteriorated over the years and that surgery and a stint at the Texas Institution for Rehabilitation and Research were unable to resolve his issues. He had been hospitalized since November, she said.

Beaumont attorney Matthew Matheny, who represented Frazier in the lawsuit against the NFL that was settled last week, said Frazier was typical of many former players who suffered lasting damage as a result of their playing careers.

“Because of the recent resolution, we hope we can either elongate their lives or make their lives easier or ease the lives of their families and caretakers,” he said.

Tami Frazier said her father had been told of the lawsuit settlement and said she hopes that efforts by the NFL and research into neurodegenerative diseases will make the game safer “for those who love the game, especially the children.”

Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Bobbie Frazier, his daughter, a son, William Frazier, and a sister.